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This Is Where I Need to Be

Amna Ahmad, New York City high school oral historian, This is Where I Need to Be project

The old saying “children should be seen, but not heard” still rings true today. Although the majority of the population in many countries is younger than 25, youth perspectives are rarely, if ever, taken seriously. This is especially true for those under the age of 18 and those who come from minority groups such as people of color or Muslims. This Is Where I Need to Be: Oral Histories of Muslim Youth in NYCattempts to break these barriers by providing a platform for diverse young Muslims of color living in New York City to voice their perspectives. You can watch a video clip of Palestinian-American Amna Ahmad’s reading of Bengali-American Taseen Ferdous’s contribution to the book.

Even though New York City is one of the most tolerant and diverse places in the world, after the events of September 11, 2001, many Muslims experienced harsh discrimination and even violent attacks. Ignorance about Islam created a hostile atmosphere and many Muslim youth were regularly harassed at school by their peers. This is especially significant in New York, where 1 in 10 public school students is Muslim, totaling over 100,000 students in the five boroughs.

Husein Yatabarry, New York City high school oral historian, This is Where I Need to Be project

Most importantly, many contributors to the anthology defined themselves not through direct responses to negative expectations, but by telling their own stories on their own terms. And the inspirational messages of the contributors have moved educators across the country to include the book as part of their teaching curriculum.

It’s important to point out that the project’s aim isn’t solely to educate non-Muslim Americans. As Rahimah Ahmad, a Muslim African-American teen contributor from Manhattan, said,

During the interview process, I realized that it’s not just people who aren’t Muslim who assume things about Muslims. We Muslims do this, too. I really hope this book will demolish many of the common assumptions people make about Muslims-for Muslims and non-Muslims alike.

If you’re a Muslim youth under the age of 25, in what ways do you think your voice is heard? In what ways might This Is Where I Need to Be change perceptions of Muslims and Islam in the US? Please share your thoughts and experiences below.

2 thoughts on “This Is Where I Need to Be”

Young people starting out in life need to be well grounded in their beliefs as well as their goals in their future. This requires a hunger for truth. The youth of today are bombarded with information on a daily basis. This requires a mental filtering system to discern what is profitable, and what is not. We are on this earth for a sort time. Eternity awaits, and should be a consideration in how we live our lives.
As a young Muslim woman, one may ask what are the rewards for a righteous Muslim woman in Paradise? Are they the same as Muslim men? Also, what are the rewards for the righteous Muslim Jinn male or female? Are they the same as for Muslim men?
These may be significant questions that need to be answered, before a young person decides to devote their lives to Islam.
So perhaps this is where young people need to be, in order to receive the answers to these eternal questions.